Silverado-Hareek

I will add that if you're looking for a manufacturer like GM to study catch cans, you're barking up the wrong tree. Most engines go well past the warranty period without valve building up being a problem. No way GM or anyone is going to spend $50 per vehicle to install a part that adds maintenance effort for the customer and has no impact on the performance of the vehicle while under warranty. Something like a catch can is left to the aftermarket to study and decide if it's a worthwhile upgrade or not.

I hat to add fuel to a catch can debate. I can say that the first time I ever emptied mine, it was in December and I drained 6 oz of fluid that had the very milky coffee look. Meaning it was mostly water and the typical 1-2 oz of oil. I drained it into one of those oil drain pans and left it outside overnight. The next morning the mixture was frozen solid. So i'd argue yes it can freeze in your catch can given the right moisture content. However, at least with an RX can, the inlet port is at the top and the outlet port is at the top so unless the can is 100% full of liquid, even if the liquid freezes you shouldn't block the air flow through the can, you would only have diminished oil catching capabilities because not as much would pass through the filter media. So over pressurization of the crankcase shouldn't be a problem. With that being said, I still recommend knowing your can's limits and understanding how long you can go in certain temperatures before emptying it and make sure it doesn't get overfilled. Generally, I go about 3,000 miles in mid July before emptying it and about 500 miles in the dead cold of winter before emptying it. And I scale inbetween that range depending on temperatures. I don't know of any studies that prove engines with catch cans are better off than engines without them. I've read enough to fall into the camp that thinks if it's catching oil, then that oil isn't getting baked onto your valves and that's a good thing. Whether it matters in the long run or not, I'm not sure we can really say one way or the other because no one has done a true scientific experiment to prove it. But, companies like Toyota are designing solutions to clean the valves on DI engines so the industry recognizes that DI has an inherent design flaw with valve buildup that needs to be addressed. The toyota solution is to use a combination port injection/direct injection setup where at certain intervals, the engine sprays fuel on the valves to clean them, then changes back over to direct injection. I'm finding it increasingly difficult not to become a Toyota owner haha

What bump stops are you all referring to? The bump stops I'm aware of are on the control arms, not the shock itself. Unless there's an OEM stop there that comes off the old shock and gets installed on the replacement Bilstein shock piston rod, but the bilsteins did not come with any type of bump stop. With that being said, based on the geometry of what is taking place when you level your truck and how bilstein's work, raising your front end would only lower the likliehood of the bump stop making contact with anything, not increase it. The worst condition would be the stock setup where the shock itself is more compressed and travel distance it can sustain is at it's lowest and the springs have no pre-load and therefore have less resistance to being compressed.

Correct the Bilstein 4600's and 5100's are basically an "all around" shock that's built for better control in standard driving conditions, better off road performance for general off roading and 4 wheel driving, and better towing performance. It really doesn't excel in a specific area of use more than the other. It's an upgrade to your stock Tenneco's/Rancho's so essentially how you would use your stock truck is how you should still use it with these Bilsteins, but with an upgraded performance in these all-around areas of use. These shocks aren't built for say taking your truck off of jumps 20' into the air. The 5100's are good for up to a 1" rear lift and they will level your front end. Anything more than that and you should consider other equipment. But these are the best shocks you can buy in my opinion for a stock truck or a leveled truck that won't be abused too terribly much outside of what we'll call "normal" truck usage.

Agreed on all points. In fact I ran over a speed bump today with my Bilsteins going about 15-20 mph and barely felt it. Made me laugh actually because with the old Ranchos I would've been tossed around gotten whiplash doing the same thing. Good suspension can't fully be explained. You just have to feel it to know it and if you're new to upgraded suspension, really your only option is to take a bunch of opinions from other people and roll the dice on one of them. I can tell you with 100% certainty that you will not hate Bilstein 4600's or 5100's. That doesn't mean they're better than everything else out there and that's the only shock you should ever buy. I'm just saying those are the only upgraded shocks I've ever personally used and for me, they're incredible. And I think you'll find a lot of people will say the same thing about the same model shocks. That's why I ultimately decided to use them because of how many people were endorsing them. So they're a safe bet in my opinion that you can't really go wrong with.

In fairness, I'll admit I was more motivated by looks. In 2014 the Z71 was the only truck besides the work truck that didn't have the overly chromed out front end. It was a way to get the black grill insert. So you're right sometimes its the look that's important. I don't find the hill descent control to be a very useful feature, and you should be able to get the 3.42 rear end in any trim level. Most trucks I looked at had it standard. But I'm getting off topic. The point is the factory Rancho's are garbage. Even though they're also made by Tenneco, I find the standard black shocks to last a little longer than the Ranchos and perform better over time.

This is why I likely won't pay for the Z71 package again. It's pretty worthless for the $3,000 premium. You're better off getting a standard 4x4 and then spending your money on some aftermarket parts which you'll ultimately have to do anyway with the Z71. Back in the 90's they actually built a decent off road truck with the Z71 package (had bilstein shocks and metal skid plates!). Nowadays it's just a status symbol and unfortunately I learned that the hard way.

When my Ranchos were brand new, they did ok off road. But these shocks wear out very quickly. I'm certain mine were shot around 30,000 miles but I waited until I needed new tires at 60,000 to replace them. I have Bilstein 5100's now and they're amazing to say the least. Whether driving off road or going over speed bumps and rough city streets in my area, they just eat up whatever they come across. One of my favorite things to do is drive over speed bumps without slowing down much and you barely feel the bumps. It's amazing...like they aren't even there. I don't remember the Rancho's handling things that well when they were new but I do recall thinking they were decent shocks when I first got my truck. Once they were shot the truck felt like a boat on a stormy sea going over bumps.

Supposedly, the condenser has already been redesigned on the later model K2's. The 2019 likely utilizes the lessons learned from the K2 trucks. Still, I personally wouldn't buy a 2019. After owning a first year model run 2007 and 2014, I've learned that you really should give a new model a few years to work out all of the bugs. Reap the benefits of the early adopters.

They did address it.....with a brand new 2019 truck ?

A lot of folks here are saying GM should issue a recall which is amusing. Understand that recalls are only issued for safety concerns and where death or injury can occur. Air conditioning is not a safety concern, therefore they will never issue a recall for this. What will happen is they'll quietly fix the issue on newer trucks, and see what happens to the existing customers. Out of those owners who's AC will break, you'll have 2 groups of people. One group will complain and do research and speak to managers and demand help and they'll get some form of assistance from GM it sounds like for the repair. Most though will swallow the painful pill of paying the full price to get it fixed and that's what GM is hoping....to spend as little of their own money as possible to fix a poor design. That's just the reality of the situation. So hopefully you're still under warranty. If not and your AC breaks, be prepared to fight a little to get some help. Me personally, I have a 2014 with 60,000 miles and so far the AC still works, but I'm expecting it to break before 100,000 miles. I'm way out of warranty now so I'm going to have a fight on my hands when it does.

If anyone does read it, it's likely to find out about major issues or what "features" people are interested in for future developments, but I doubt they see something this and immediately go and redesign their trucks. At the end of the day, most of the feedback they get is from customers at dealers complaining about why GM doesn't offer an 18" touchscreen infotainment system like (insert other brand here). And that's how you end up with trucks that cost $50,000-$60,000. Me personally, I'd be satisfied with an off road package that has metal skid plates and a gas pedal that's securely attached to the truck. But I'm old school I guess. I just want to drive something that works, I'm not as interested in all the extra bells and whistles.

I'm pretty sure my Ranchos were shot around 30,000. I can guarantee yours are shot at 75k, no doubt, I'd bet my truck on it. I know it's expensive, but order yourself some Bilstein shocks right now, get them installed, and drink a cold beer and smile. No need to send me a thank you note either. Just enjoy your truck!

I replaced the shocks first and drove about a week before putting the tires on and the vibration was still there. Also, I could tell over time that the stock Rancho shocks were degrading and the truck was becoming more bouncy, but the vibration was not affected. I'm pretty positive the vibration in my case was due to the crappy stock tires, perhaps in combination with other design parameters associated with these trucks. I can't be certain that it was all 100% the tires' fault but so far about a week in on the new tires I haven't felt any vibrations. I'm keeping an eye on it though to be sure and will report back if anything comes up.

I know it’s easier said than done but if you just got yours, a tire shop should give you credit for your existing tires since they can resell them

Yeah I remember reading that. You can either disconnect the battery or unplug the wires going to the steering. The ultimate goal being to cut power to the steering system while working on the suspension. I think the issue is if the steering system is moved during the install, it can force the electric power steering motor to move and act like a generator and generate an electric current that could damage something. It's not likely, but they're trying to eliminate possible issues. As you can see most guys around here are saying they didn't do it either because they didn't know or didn't care but ultimately did not have a problem.

Good find thanks. I'll chime in on this one.

Yep that was back when Chevy still put quality parts on their "off road" packages including metal skid plates. My dad had a '96 Z71...that truck was a beast. These newer trucks look great and have a lot of cool features, but you do have to spend some money upgrading some parts if you like to go off the pavement and play a little.

Yeah it really makes you wonder what issue they're running into. I will say, my last truck (2007 Silverado) had the 4600 HD's and they were amazing. The 5100's are supposed to be the same shock but with the ability to level the front end so I'm expecting a similar performance over time and off-road. I can definitely feel a major upgrade over the crappy Rancho's which I hated from day 1.

I think you're supposed to do that before doing any work so that you can't damage the steering system. I'm not sure if my mechanic did that or not when he installed the shocks, but I never did it following the discovery the popping steering.

Back in the 90's when the Tahoe's/Suburbans were basically Silverados with a roof over the bed, I would say it's probably ok. But their paths have become more separate over the years....I think the SUV's are now even moving toward independent rear suspension and dropping the solid rear axles. My opinion is to install a part that's been designed and fitted for your truck and not chance it. Bilstein even tweaks the valving of the shocks for the vehicle so what you buy for a silverado has been designed and tested to support the parameters of a Silverado. Just my $0.02.

If you go directly to Bilstein's website and enter your vehicle information, the 6112 is not an option for our trucks. Is it still in development? I feel like I was reading about these shocks over a year ago.

Well 4 years later, I can confirm it was my tires. I just put on BFG K02's in load range E last week and installed bilstein 5100 shocks and so far the truck drives great. The tires are a little heavier now and you can feel that, but I don't feel vibrations in the steering wheel like I did with the Goodyears. Of course, this means that in my case it was the tires and not everyone has the same type of vibration. I do still think there are multiple types of vibration problems out there related to tires, the driveline, etc. But for the folks with stock tires that suspect the tires are the culprit of your high speed 60MPH+ steering wheel vibration, it's likely your tires.

I've posted about this in a few threads, but the short version of my situation is: 1) Truck had no steering issues (that I recall) when it was stock 2) I had bilstein 5100 leveling shocks installed. imediately I noticed the steering was tighter and there was a popping noise and feeling in the steering wheel when turning at low speeds. 3) I had an alignment done to correct for the level. No change to the tight steering and popping noise. 4) I had new 33" tires installed and immediately the steering had loosened back up and the popping noise/feeling was gone. The only solution I can come up with is the level originally put the tierods on a weird angle that caused the steering to bind up some, and then the bigger tires somehow corrected the angle.

This is a great thread. I just leveled my truck and had bigger tires put on and I've been researching adjusting the speedometer. I've basically settled on the fact that I'm going to need a tuner. This Diablosport tuner seems to be getting the best reviews outside of BlackBear. I've also wanted to turn off AFM as well so this is an all in one solution. Now I just need to get the purchase past the Mrs. haha After reading this thread though, I would caution everyone to be careful with the engine idle adjustment. If you recall, when these K2 trucks first came out, the very first recall for them was that the truck could catch fire while idling. The recall fix was a software update. Thinking logically about this, how does a software update prevent a fire? Likely, they adjusted the engine idle and possibly the cooling fan speed. Just be careful adjusting these settings and leaving your trucks to idle too long.